CAPTION: Picture of Cuban children of Castro, Santiago De Cuba, Cuba

CAPTION: Picture of Sgra. Rosa Alisa Fraga sitting in her home praying with Rosary beads and Statue of Santa Barbara, Trinidad, Cuba.
Sgra. Fraga sits in her room all day watching over the statue and prays. She tells the story of the Santa Barbara statue with passion.
I asked Sgra. Fraga why she has this statue in her home, she explained: "In this story there was a civilian sanatorium for tuberculosis. When this system of communism triumphed the government took over this sanatorium in Havana called Esperanza. Since the military in Cuba cannot be Christians, and the statue was in the sanatorium, Commander Fagardo of the military forces of Fidel collected the religious items and sent them to the church. But the church was already full, so they were sent to various homes to be guarded until a church has room. I am responsible for her (Santa Barbara) and when they come to look for her, she must be in the same condition as when they brought her here."
She then asked: "Your house doesn't have any?"
Santa Barbara is an Early Christian martyr and patroness of artillerymen, arsenals and in Spanish refers to a ship's weapon storage facility. Santa Barbara is also considered an Afro-Cuban deity (Santa Barbara-Changó), goddess of thunder and explosions.
Trinidad is a national monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site.